Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Thirty people in Ho Chi Minh City have tested positive for the bacterium that causes meningitis, which could be fatal if left untreated, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Tuesday.

The paper quoted Tran Phu Manh Sieu, director of the HCMC Center for Preventive Health, as saying that the cases were detected among workers of the Japanese-owned Furukawa Automotive Parts Vietnam’s factory in Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, District 7.

Following the discovery, the center has prescribed antibiotics for all 6,200 workers of the factory to prevent the spread of Neisseria meningitides – the bacterium that causes meningitis, it said.

Those people who have fever will be asked to take rest at local health clinics and not return to work so as to curb the spread of the disease.

According to the report, from Tuesday local agencies will start inspections at other factories in Tan Thuan and launch campaigns to raise local workers’ awareness about the disease. Read More